Jeff Downing is a third generation Nebraska lawyer whose professionalism and skill have earned him wide recognition among his peers. He is a Fellow in the invitation-only American College of Trial Lawyers (limited to one percent of attorneys nationwide), a member of the invitation-only American Board of Trial Advocates (dedicated to preserving the right to trial by jury), and recognized as a Super Lawyer in personal injury litigation.
Mr. Downings work has shaped Nebraska law spawning five law review articles and thousands of citations in secondary sources and subsequent cases. The law review articles specifically inspired by the legal holdings in his cases include:
–Owners and Occupiers of Land Now Owe Those Lawfully on Their Premises a Duty of Reasonable Care Under Heins v. Webster County, 250 neb. 750, 552 N.W. 2d 51 (1996), 76 Neb. L. Rev. 184 (1997)
–Res Ipsa Loquitur and the Great Cattle Caper: Inferred Negligence in Escaped Livestock-Automobile Collisions after Roberts v. Weber & Sons, Co., 248 Neb. 243, 533 N.W.2d 664 (1995), 75 Neb. L. Rev. 308 (1996)
–Small Town Establishment of Religion in ACLU of Nebraska Foundation v. City of Plattsmouth, 419 F.3d 772 (8th Cir. 2005), 84 Neb. L. Rev. 159 (2006)
–The Erosion of Nebraskas Free Exercise Protection: In Re Interest of Anaya (Anaya II), 276 Neb. 825, 758 N.W.2d 10 (2008), 89 Neb. L. Rev. 997 (2010)
–Readdressing Nebraskas Misinterpreted Conscience Clause, 97 Neb. L. Rev. 890 (2019) (revisiting the central holding of Anaya II).
Mr. Downing has had the privilege of representing clients in a number of precedent-setting cases. In Heins v. Webster County, 250 Neb. 750, 552 N.W. 2d 51 (1996), the Nebraska Supreme Court threw out the invitee/licensee distinction in premises liability law, a rule going back to the common law of England (one of many things the Brits had wrong at our founding). The decision represented a significant change in Nebraska law lowering the burden on injured parties to bring their claims against negligent landowners.
In Rader v. Johnston, 924 F. Supp. 1540 (D. Neb. 1996) a federal court held for the first time that a student could be exempted from a universitys on-campus housing requirement for religious reasons.
The Rader decision was recently mentioned by the United States Supreme Court in its landmark ruling in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, 141 S.Ct. 1868 (2021) (A law is not generally applicable if it invites the government to consider the particular reasons for a persons conduct by creating a mechanism for individualized exemptions. Where such a system of individual exemptions exists, the government may not refuse to extend that system to cases of religious hardship without a compelling reason.)
Mr. Downing is AV rated by his fellow attorneys and the judges before whom he practices for possessing the highest legal ability and ethical standards. He is also a member of the U.S. Supreme Court Bar and a Lifetime Fellow of the Nebraska State Bar Foundation.
For his advocacy in constitutional litigation, Mr. Downing was inducted into the ADF Honor Guard. Mr. Downing has presented at numerous CLE events and serves many legal organizations by coordinating educational opportunities for Nebraska lawyers on topics ranging from Constitutional and Trial Law to Legal Ethics.
For more than thirty years, Mr. Downing has specialized in representing Nebraskans whose constitutional freedoms have been endangered or infringed.
In Ellis v. Houston, 742 F.3d 307 (8th Cir. 2014), Mr. Downing brought a federal civil rights case on behalf of five African-American prison guards who were subjected to a racially hostile work environment and retaliation when they dared to complain. After extensive litigation, the case was dismissed.
Mr. Downing successfully pursued an appeal to the Eighth Circuit who reversed finding that the lower court had utilized a noveland faultystandard by looking at the claims of the group as if there were but a single plaintiff and a single defendant. After remand, the case settled for more than $775,000.
In Doe v. School District of Norfolk, 340 F.3d 605 (8th Cir. 2003), the Court ruled that a school board members prayer at graduation did not violate the Establishment Clause.
In ACLU Nebraska v. City of Plattsmouth, 419 F.3d.772 (8th Cir. 2005), the Court held that a citys display of a Ten Commandments monument in a city park was constitutional.
In In re Interest of Anaya, 276 Neb. 825, 758 N.W.2d 10 (2008), a case which garnered national attention, the Nebraska Supreme Court found improper a juvenile courts aggressive exercise of jurisdiction over a newborn whose parents objected to mandatory medical screening on religious grounds. The Supreme Court ruled that the juvenile courts orders were a nullity.
In Dillon v. Hopkins, 4:CV91-3320, Mr. Downing won an injunction on religious liberty and equal protection grounds for Native American inmates desiring to have a religious event 8 hours in duration instead of the restrictive 3-hour time limit imposed by the administration.
In Olmer v. City of Lincoln, 23 F. Supp. 2d 1091 (D. Neb. 1998), Mr. Downing was on a team of lawyers who challenged a restrictive picketing ordinance that was struck down in federal court on First Amendment grounds.
In Conrad v. City of Hastings, Mr. Downing filed suit against a restrictive leafleting ordinance which prohibited distribution of handbills, posters and leaflets without a permit. After suit was filed, the ordinance was rescinded.
In Wooten, et. al., v. Lancaster County, Mr. Downing successfully represented a group of street preachers who filed a claim after being arrested and a 15 foot-tall cross impounded as evidence. The ensuing settlement included payment of $500, circulation of a memo on free speech and religious liberty (authored by Mr. Downing) among the sheriffs department to better educate them on citizens rights, and return of the cross to the claimants.
Mr. Downings other reported decisions include: Roberts v. Weber and Sons, 248 Neb. 243 (1995) ; Skiles v. Security State Bank, 494 N.W. 2d 355, 1 Neb. App. 360, (1992), , Blue Dane Simmental v. American Simmental Association, et.al., 178 F.3d 1035 (8th Cir. 1999), Unisys Corp. v. Neb. Life and Health Guaranty, 267 Neb. 158, (2004), and Cure v. Pedcor, 265 F.Supp.3d 984 (D. Neb. 2016).
Mr. Downing is a member of the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys and has recovered tens of millions of dollars on behalf of Nebraskans injured through medical malpractice, defective products and the negligence of others.
Company Firm
Keating, O'Gara, Nedved & Peter, P.C., L.L.O.
Firm Mailing
PO Box 82248
Lincoln
Nebraska
68501-2248
United States of America
Fellow Since
March 2, 2024
Practice Areas
- Civil Rights-Plaintiff
- Constitutional
- First Amendment
- Medical Malpractice-Plaintiff
- Personal Injury-Plaintiff
Chapter
- Nebraska
Committee(s)
Contact Info